I just thought I’d pop this up here as I know lots of people struggle in finding vegan clothing.

I’m very much on the fence when it comes to fashion. I don’t wear leather, wool or anything that I know comes from or would harm an animal.

Equally I don’t shop solely in ethical vegan clothes shops – because they are usually CRAZY expensive.

Saying that I’m always looking for a good winter coat (even though I currently live in the desert – but I’m ginger so a green long winter coat is perfection for me) and I noticed a few of the shops in these links have things such as ‘vegan wool’ which I need to have in my life. SNNUUGGGLLLLYYY!

So yes. Obvs things like Linda McCartney make an appearance but also a few cool little American online places that have trendy shoes and bags I might just order. Then I can be a cool kid.

I can only apologies at how long it’s been since I last posted on here – but to be fair I have been very busy trying to save three lovely stray dogs in the Middle East! (More about that later!) So you can’t be to mad!

Last time I posted I promised to put my Top 5 chain restaurants and believe me, I have been eating out A LOT (I blame all of you for the weight gain of course!) So I will post that up soon.

But for today to ease us all back into this blogging malarkey – something simple, sweet and classic.

Mint mentos have almost the same ingredients except it has corn starch in it.

As per norm – the sugar used is from an unknown source – Some of you might be ok with this, others not. The choice is yours people! I will email and ask, but they don’t tend to get back to me in any rush.

I’ve been warned that some Mentos contain beeswax from different countries , so watch your labels!

Mentos say “The wax in the Mentos products which are imported and distributed by Stuart Alexander & Co. is carnauba wax which is derived from the palm tree.

We are not able to answer questions for Mentos products which do not state that they are imported and distributed by our company.”

Did you know that most toothpastes have animal fat in them? I know EEEEEWWWWWW.

I only found this out a few weeks ago, and living in the Middle East I thought, yeah – good luck finding a Vegan Toothpaste here! There’s calve’s hearts on most menus, so vegan toiletries is not the most demanded produce.

But then, whilst shopping in one of the many air conditioned malls, I came across the glory that is a Lush shop.

Imagine my surprise as I browsed the many lotions and potions, that behind the cashier, there was a shelf of tiny boxes with the word Toothpaste on them.

Toothy Tabs have only been on the market for two months, so lots of you might not have seen them, but effectively they are tablets of solid toothpaste.

Obviously as it’s Lush – they haven’t been tested on animals and theres a big Vegan logo on the box that tells me I can chomp on these till the cows come home!

But before I go into the awesomeness of these little buggers, here’s some more about traditional Toothpaste:

Ignoring the fact that most brands are tested on animals, most toothpastes are not vegetarian or vegan in definition, as they contain glycerin which comes from pigs and cows. Some even use ground bones – for added calcium.

Obviously in this day and age if you see glycerin in a list of toothpaste ingredients, it does not automatically mean that it is not vegetarian as there are now a host of ways to produce glycerin, but there is a chance that it might not be.

The toothpaste brand which received the lowest ethical rating was Crest. Other toothpaste brands which recieved low ethical ratings include Rembrandt toothpaste, Sensondyne toothpaste, and Aqua fresh toothpaste.

This will help so that the next time you go to the supermarket, if you don’t have a Lush shop at hand, you are buying the most Vegan version you can.

Now! On with today’s find!

Toothy tabs, are solid pieces of toothpaste made in pill form.

They contain all natural ingredients and you simply put them between your teeth, give them a crunch and brush.

Firstly, I need to point out how impressed I am with the branding, packaging and recyclability of this product. Not to mention the natural ingredients!

Secondly, the range of flavours is great! And depending on how you like your toothpaste – whitening, extra fresh etc, theres one for you! You can view them all HERE.

The toothy tabs foam really well, and once you’ve done the crunching part its just like normal toothpaste.

I’m using the ‘Dirty’ tabs and my teeth feel really, really clean and look whiter thanks to the bicarbonate of soda in these bad boys!

The only thing I’m willing to say thats negative about these is the taste.
They don’t taste horrible, but they don’t really taste like you expect toothpaste to taste like. If that makes sense!

After three weeks, I’ve got used the Dirty tabs, and now I can really taste the mint in them, when I first started using them however, I wondered how I was going to stick to doing that two/three times a day as it wasn’t the nicest sensation.

Overall I urge you all to give them a go. They’re good for the environment, good for animals, good on your teeth and its good to support a company like Lush.

I’m trying to replace all my products at the moment – make-up, nail varnishes, beauty and cosmetics, with vegan friendly brands and products, however this takes time and money, so every now and again I’ll be reviewing and showing you the vegan friendly finds for everyday life.

Hence, today’s Vegan Friendly Finds – Body Shop Aloe Vera Products!

Yesterday I was paid – YAAAAY! So I treated myself to a beauty haul.

I have sensitive skin (the curse of being ginger) so Aloe Vera products are the best range for me. They’ve got a buy two get one free on at the moment too!

I picked up an Aloe soothing day cream, gentle foaming face wash and deodorant.

Body Shop are a well known for being ethical. Not only do they not test on animals, but all their products are 100% Vegetarian.

They have a policy on products that do contain animals which you can see below – or HERE

So all you need to look out for is Honey, Beeswax, Lanolin & Shellac in the ingredients to find out if you can use it or not.

You can find their brand values on testing on animals HERE.The body Shop itself does not test on animals, however it falls in a grey area for some people as it was acquired by L’Oreal in 2006, and although The Body Shop still does not test its products on animals, L’Oreal does.

Obviously this is an issue, however I personally feel that having such a resource to vegan beauty products on the high street can only be good. Body Shop is a massive brand! ( I bought my products yesterday in a mall in Doha in the Middle East!) so many consumers are unintentionally buying and supporting the cause, and the more this happens the more companies will see profit in this and change their products.

Ok! Now that the credentials are over with, let’s get on with this bad boy!

The Aloe Soothing Day Cream – I cant live without this product! I’ve been using it since around 2012 and as soon as it runs out I grab another.

I hate moisturisers that leave you feeling greasy and shiny, however with this light, creamy, day cream I can pop it on, on my way to work knowing it would have 100% sunk in in the 20 minutes it takes to get me there.

Its marketed to have gentle hydration, leaves skin soft and smooth, fragrance, colour and alcohol-free and has no added preservatives. All of this can only be good!

Don’t get the night cream however! Although its effectively the same thing, its thicker, so unless you’re going to put it on at night before bed and no other time, you end up looking like a shiny bauble.

I used this for the first time last night – and I picked this product for the specific reason that it says it removes make-up.

As we went for a lovely picnic yesterday in the Aspire Park in Doha, I wanted to look like a 50’s dreamboat so put on a nice dress and make-up. Here I am at the end of the very long day.

As you can see my make-up routine involves a LOT of black eyeliner so this product will be put to the test!

Firstly – the foamy wash is great, just splash your face with water, pump the foam into your hands – you get a generous amount with one pump – then… Well… Wash your face!

I scrubbed really well, but unfortunately it didn’t get rid of my make-up and made my towel do a sad owl face.

In the end I gave up and used a wet wipe, but I suspect for those of you who don’t base their look on Alice Cooper, this will work just fine. (P.S I’ve used it since the make-up experience, and it works really well on a day to day basis and leaves you feeling clean and refreshed.)

The Aloe Anti-Perspirant Deodorant – I’m not a massively sweaty or smelly person. Not because I’m perfect, but mostly because I don’t do a lot! I’m not a runner, and I certainly don’t go out in the mid day Emirate sun, so although it is very hot, I’m mostly air conditioned.

Saying that, knowing you aren’t going to smell is always a plus, and due to the heat, having something that will cool and soothe would be nice.

This deodorant doesn’t smell, isn’t perfumed at all, and the two days I’ve used it hasn’t made me any less smelly. What is does do however is exactly what I wanted it to, which is to moisturise and cool your armpits.

I’m finding it hard to review as I’m sure many people will effectively say it doesn’t work, as it does not hide the smell of your sweat. What it does do however is cool and soothe your armpits so you shouldn’t sweat as much.

Basically, if your doing something sweaty, I suggest you use something more protective, but for me this is brilliant, inoffensive and protecting.